RESULTS FOR 2008
Ranking: 717=
Worth: £112m
Source of wealth: Music

Playboy magazine has dubbed Cowell the grandest prime-time villain since JR Ewing, saying: “With a lordly flair and a stagey British accent, he dismisses aspiring singers with a roll of his eyes or a lash of his tongue.” Fortunately for Cowell, his Mr Nasty act has gone down a treat across the Atlantic.

“Everyone wants to be famous these days, and they all want to do it the easy way. We illustrate how 95% of the public simply don’t have any talent and are completely useless,” he says. Somebody who has proved to be far from useless is Leona Lewis, winner of The X Factor, one of his UK shows. Last month she became the first British woman for more than 20 years to top the American music charts, no doubt helped by an appearance with an effusive Cowell, her manager, on Oprah Winfrey’s television show.

The unsparingly blunt entertainment mogul was paid £22.5m last year, according to the Forbes list of the 100 most powerful celebrities. In the USA, his biggest hit is American Idol, for which he earns more than £10m a series. Last month he put aside his curmudgeonly image to pay off the £80,000 mortgage of an American couple whose young daughter has cancer.

In his home country, a new series of Britain’s Got Talent started this month. Having started out as a postboy with recording giant EMI, Brighton-born Cowell struggled in the music business, and went bankrupt. Having lost his Porsche and house, he spent his last few pounds on a taxi to his parents’ home. He rose again to promote big-selling acts such as Westlife. In 2005 he signed a five-year deal with Sony BMG for his music and television production interests. Sony BMG also paid £43m for Cowell's 50% stake in Simco, a joint venture.

The 48-year-old spends much of the year with girlfriend Terri Seymour at his Beverly Hills home, where the garage is full of super-shiny cars that reflect his star status, including Ferraris and Bentleys.

RESULTS FOR 2007
Ranking: 700=
Worth: £100m
Source of wealth: Music